The recent school shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has sparked increased discussion throughout the nation regarding school safety. Following thirteen other school shootings that have occured since the start of 2018, it has sparked a nationwide movement led by student activists. Some students and teachers feel helpless in their position to stop these senseless tragedies, are frustrated over the lack of gun control legislature, and are fearful of their safety and the safety of others. Schools should be a place of learning, not of fear. While the IHS administration has taken various steps to improve school safety, the lack of communication between students and school administrators has led to confusion regarding the implementation of new school safety procedures. In order to alleviate student concern and create a safer school environment, there must be clear and direct communication about new safety protocols between school administrators and students, as well as the implementation of more comprehensive safety drills.
The IHS administration has taken extensive steps to ensure student safety, but many students are unaware of this progress. The new safety precautions the administration has implemented include: ensuring more locked doors throughout the day, moving hallway assistance staff to be at doors, requiring all staff to wear their ID, strictly enforcing the new visitor protocol, reviewing safety drills, calling faculty meetings to cover safety protocols, passing out pamphlets to all teachers detailing procedure on various emergency scenarios, and partnering with the Ithaca Police Department (IPD) for security suggestions.
In survey of 242 students at IHS, 59.9 percent of respondents felt as if the administration has not adequately addressed student and teacher concerns in light of the recent school shooting. The communication of these procedures to students can create a greater sense of safety among the student population. Mr. Heiland, a U.S. history teacher at IHS expressed his view on the need for increased communication, saying, “I believe the school is taking a measured and cautious approach to this issue, but more transparency is beneficial. Students have numerous concerns about the safety of the school and what is being done to address safety, and it would be highly beneficial to provide a means for students to vocalize these concerns, and hear direct answers from school personnel.”
While a greater amount of lockdown drills have been implemented, students have questioned the overall effectiveness of these procedures. So far, only one drill has been practiced, and only in one class period. New York State requires a minimum of four lockdown drills per year, and Mr. Trumble assures that “…we’ll certainly exceed that by the time we get to June.” Although these drills may come in handy down the road, they do not ease the fears that students have right now. Because there has only been one drill, many students do not know what to do in other class periods if a should lockdown occur. A student interviewed by The Tattler expressed their concern: “To increase school safety, we should practice a lockdown during a majority of the class periods. I feel like I have no idea what to do if I’m in H Courtyard or in the cafeteria.” Fifty-five percent of students reported they did not know the lockdown procedure in each of their classrooms.
The library is an area that has implemented its own lockdown drills, in addition to the school sanctioned drill. Library staff dedicated an entire day to the drills, and had a mock lockdown in each period. This allowed all students that spent time in the library to get a good idea about how a lockdown would occur in the library; this is a protocol that all classrooms should adopt. Currently, each year, IHS sets aside a day where a fire drill is practiced in each period. Likewise, a similar protocol should be implemented with lockdown drills. By knowing exactly what to do to stay safe at all points of the day, students at IHS will be able to continue learning in the safe place that IHS should be.
Increased communication and transparency between the school administration and students can be achieved through a variety of methods. Whether it is through a school wide email or google document, announcements over the loudspeaker, or assemblies, the administration has means to directly and effectively address students concerns while also creating a dialogue for discussion. This would not only benefit students but it will also benefit the administration. Students would be able to express any concerns or solutions they may have, and the administration could use these suggestions to better ensure the safety and wellbeing of the students at IHS.
It is vital that students feel safe at IHS, where a majority of their days are spent. While the administration agrees, and has put many new policies in place to ease these fears, the only way students’ fears can be alleviated is if they know about these new safety procedures. It is vital that students are fully aware of and have practiced safety protocols so that in the case of an emergency, they know exactly what to do. Increased communication will benefit the school for all issues pertaining to students, not just school safety, creating a stronger and closer school community.